Office Re-do

Way back when, Eric came to visit. We did a lot of things, namely eat good food, organize my coat closet, and stain a bunch of wood for shoe moulding and a desk. We got more done that weekend then I ever thought I could do. We (well, he) worked our butts off, with some trips to Home Depot and Target interspersed (and of course, Central BBQ). 

One of our big projects was an office makeover. With Jake in school, we use the office quite a bit and we wanted a bit L-shaped desk. These could be pricey so instead we built our own. Now, I haven't shown that in all these months because (believe it or not...) it isn't isn't "done." And by "done," I mean that the cork won't stay on the wall for my bulletin board and I'm going to have to go to plan d on that one. Plus some tidying is in order. Other parts of the office need help as well, as these cute decals I got for the wall over the futon have not stuck whatsoever. 

BUT, with the bad comes the good and so today I am here to share with you one project completed for the office.

Back in May I bought this chair at Gary's antiques on Central (a little junk store that calls itself an antique store). It has found its home in our office. I took a white shelf unit from the college days and spray painted it black (remember, I love spray painting things). We had my Nicholas Sparks collection to house (and assorted other novels of great importance) and some odds and ends - the baskets are from college days as well. I found the lamp at Walmart while shopping for yarn for a youth retreat. It was $15 (and that is a story...). 

We also are really excited to have a place to display Jake's grandfather's letter sweater from UT. He played on the 1951 National Championship team and Jake's parents have loaned this to us for our house. Since their house has become LSU territory for a bit, we've got to rep the Vols over here.  

Our colors for this room are orange, lime, and turquoise - so there are little pops here and there of those colors. I love bright colors!

Make this: Fresh, Simple Weeknight Pasta

When it came to dinner tonight, I wanted a pasta that used the ingredients left over from the prior night's meal. So, in logical fashion, I googled the ingredients. This pasta dish, adapted from my favorite Cook's Country, is what I came up with. Try it out for yourself, if you wish...

 What you need:
- pasta (calls for fusili, but we used bowtie)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can diced (we omitted, as we did not have any)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 3 tblsp olive oil
- 8 mini mozzarella pearls, halved
- grated parm cheese
- 1/2 teasp salt
- 1/4 teasp sugar
- 1/4 teasp red pepper flakes


1) heat the olive oil over medium high, add garlic and red pepper flakes until golden
2) add in tomatoes, let simmer 15-20 min until thickened (we added red wine here - why not?)
3) after 15-20 min, add in basil, salt, sugar, stir
4) pour over pasta, which has boiled by now and been strained
5) stir in mozzarella balls
6) serve with fresh grated parm.

Make this: Margherita Pizza

It is no secret that I love pizza. In fact, pizza and pickles get blogged about most food wise over here. The other day I attempted to replicate one of my favorite pizzas in recent memory: the Margherita Pizza. 

 While I'd like to make my own dough, that is another project for another day. Use your own dough if you like. My less than technical recipe as follows:

1) dough - make it/unpop and unroll the canned stuff. Whatevs.
2) brush dough with olive oil
3) sprinkle minced garlic over oiled dough
4) lay sauce (I used a can of crushed tomatoes tonight)
5) sprinkle pizza cheese (moderate, less than normal)
6) slice small tomatoes and place them on pizza scattered
7) place fresh mozzarella pearls on the pizza, in a scattered fashion as well
8) de-stem and arrange basil leaves on pizza
9) top with grated fresh pepper and italian seasonings, cook at 350 until done

YUM. 

What do the people want?

So, one feature of Google Analytics is that I can see how people find my blog via search engine --what they type in. I was curious to see what trends I noticed, as I have been using GA for over a year now. There were two dominant topics people found my blog by searching:

1) Sherwin William's Beeswax color - people like seeing real rooms painted a certain color. My dining and living room are painted this color and I talked about it a lot during the big move (partially because there are actually TWO colors, beeswax and bees wax and one is a butter yellow, while the one I have is more of a golden straw yellow). I love this color, in case you've searched and tried to find pictures based on that. The label "house tour" or the link on the side will show you my take on the paint color Beeswax. 


2) Beer Battered Fried Pickles - last year we attempted to make our favorite treat, fried pickles. We've actually made them a few times since that post and perfected our methods quite a bit. We make the batter the day before, use ranch powder and Texas Pete, more garlic, and put the battered pickles in the fridge before frying them. We'll have to do a follow up post. 

I think these two top topics really explain my blog well. Here at Living, Learning, Loving, I like to think I provide a glimpse into normal life around the house. Some blogs are foodie, some are house decor, but we're just a little of everything. And that is life. 

Go there: YoLo

When we were in Knoxville, we went to Menchie's and were introduced to the idea of self-serve yogurt. Our lives were forever changed. Once back in Memphis, we heard rumors of a new place being opened called YoLo. The one in Collierville was completed this summer but we wouldn't dare drive that far out East (we're midtowners, by golly). 

So, once the blogs and fb started buzzing that YoLo was (finally) complete in East Memphis, we buckled up, packed our provisions, took a bathroom break, and geared up for the "big trip" to East Memphis. (I only slightly kid).

Here's the deal. YoLo is worth it. Wow. First off, the idea is simple - self serve soft serve. You go to these stations and fill your own cup:

 There are six different banks with two flavors each (and a middle "mix up" option). I got two plops - a swirl of vanilla bean and espresso and a swirl of strawberry and birthday cake. This froyo is really good - Menchies was a little blah but this stuff is yummy. 

After you get your flavors, you put in your toppings:

I like that a lot of their toppings are local - the cookie dough is fresh from a local bakery, there is local fruit and honey, local granola, etc. They have your typical stuff, plus cereal and other fun things too. There is an entire wall of toppings. 

 A few notes:
- I recommend not overdoing the flavor combos. You could easily put a lot of flavors in one cup but it overwhelms the taste buds. I wanted four flavors so I did two separate piles. Jake went with just one. Last time, I got 5 flavors mixed together and it was not good. 
- It is priced by the ounce and gets pricey. Ours was 9$!!!


If you're a Memphian, check out YoLo in Erin Way Shopping Center. We'll definitely be back. I'm already craving it again.

On a spray paint kick.

I'm definitely on a spray paint kick. Advice about spray paint:


- if you want good colors and you're a midtowner, you have to go to East Memphis. Home Depot on Poplar at Avalon does not have the goods. Lowe's will change your life.


- buy the 2$ spray gun attachment. Really.

I have not been feeling our entry hall mirror for some time. Firstly, it is too small for the space. But short of buying a bigger mirror (and dropping $50+ already allocated to other home projects), I've been dealing. 

I decided to take my love of spray paint, though, and give my mirror a spiff up. Here she is!

Before:

 After:

 The lighter, painted look is much more me. I also decluttered a little by moving the platter to a different location where it is less likely to be knocked on the floor.

Goodwill.

On Saturday, after a fun over-nighter with some fabulous youth of the Episcopal church, I took the opportunity of being in Bartlett to hit up my favorite Goodwill store. I love thrift stores. It is like a treasure hunt. 

The hunt on Saturday was good. 2 hours and a shopping cart later, I exited the store feeling like I had done a workout. I got a lot of fun things for the house and even 2 vineyard vines skirts with the tags still on them (3.99 each!!!). Among the fabulous finds were these:

Sundae glasses - perfect for just enough ice cream. 

Teak wooden salad bowls with a matching serving bowl:

And this tray and little odds and ends - this is part of a project for a centerpiece for the table!!

Did you spy Jake's new backpack and water bottle in the second picture? He's a week into school, has a test tomorrow, and is working his butt off but very happy!

I love etsy.

Recently, three of my bffs went to grad school. I have to say that I LOVE etsy.com because I was able to get them fun little gifts for their journey. I want to shamlessly plug etsy and especially the people I used because it is just such a great little arts and crafts community. I'm not getting any kick backs, but I sure wish I was because I have found so much on there to buy!!!

I love the shop My Personalized T-shirt because I got these super cute coasters:

 I love the Broward Patch because I got Ellen a camera strap because she's a professional photographer now!

 I think etsy is probably my go-to gift place now. You can literally find anything you want there!!! It is a bit dangerous.

We've got samples.

What a long, strange trip it has been in the flooring department of our kitchen reno. Here's the chronicles of my kitchen flooring blog posts:

The one that started it all, pondering wood floors.
The one where I admitted I wanted not just wood floors but PAINTED wood floors.
The one where I switched my love from painted wood to checkerboard cork tiles.
The one where I admitted I wanted linoleum, as in the stuff used in school flooring.

And today, we actually took home samples!

 The cork will go in the den - we got a lighter and darker and are not sure which we like better. They are actually just on either side of the color of our wood floors. I like both for different reasons - the darker looks good contrasting the kitchen tiles but the lighter will open up the room more and I like the square pattern. 

The straw and white tiles are small samples of a bioform LEED certified tile that will go in the kitchen. It is modern linoleum. It will be in 12X12 squares, diagonal checkerboard. 

I included the couch pillows in the picture so the different colors of the room were all together - the green in the walls, the reds and oranges of the pillow. We'll most likely be painting the trim in this room white since we'll have new french doors and a window that will be painted white. 

So, which cork should we go with?

I want it now!

I've been on the search for what I'm calling a "butler's pantry" or kitchen hutch. I've found a few I've liked but nothing for the right price or look. Really, what I want is this buffet/hutch set from Crate and Barrel:

 (the Cabria hutch in Honey Brown as seen here)

What I don't like? The price. It is $1298, plus tax/shipping. I know that this is about the price of a nice piece I'd find in an antique store and that it is probably very much worth the money, but that is 10% of our kitchen budget!

In the spirit of a bargain, I hunted on IKEA and Target. I found this remarkably similar (though probably poorer in construction) version on Target's website for $499.99 (and free shipping):

Target's 2 Door Buffet with Hutch found here

Target's is a bit smaller, at 44W versus 51W and 70H versus 76H. Apparently the "glass" is actually plastic and it does require some tricky assembly. 

Another option is one I just spied off IKEA's website - to buy a buffet and put open shelving on the wall. This would be cheaper (buying just the buffet) is a different idea. We'll see...

What do you guys think - is the Target one a close enough look to warrant the $500 price tag?

Just in case you forgot..

Our kitchen reno has been slated to start for some time. Remember me blogging about it starting in June? We got our appliances. They are lovely. And in our garage. Then July came. We went out of town the whole month (you saw those pictures) and our contractor got us quotes. At which point we almost fainted at the total (we're on a budget here, y'all). 

So here we are. August. Life is crazy. But we're wanting that kitchen. And working towards it. As I've said, the good news about a long planning period is the ideas get worked out. Priorities get made. Bad news? Restless and anxious feelings emerge. 

What are we thinking now? Well, we've got our "list" down. We've kept the major parts we liked, simplified, and re-done some stuff. 

One thing that has happened is that we found out that our flooring company (Kiser, if you were wondering) will not install cork tile flooring due to humidity issues and the tile adhering to the floor. We figured this was a good call and had to decide between our beloved cork and our beloved diagonal alternating color pattern. Well, if you know me you know I get what I want. And I want both. So now our plan is:

1) cork in the den (in planks, which they WILL install and prefer)
2) marmoleum on the diagonal alternating pattern in butter and cream in the kitchen

Here was an inspiration pic I saw from a blog (the photo is from the internet but they don't credit it - I think it is a magazine, as I have seen it before):

Theirs is grey and butter but you get the idea. I think it is quirky and fun, just a bit different. 

We're still going for the black counters, painting our cabinets white, and getting LOTS of light added. We're simplifying the layout, keeping our design we have now but getting rid of half of a wall. We did decide to put in french doors in the den and turn the back door into a window. We actually bought our banquette seating the other day (!!!). 

I'll be selling those modern fixtures I blogged about in July on craigslist. The feel here is modern farm kitchen, with light green walls, white cabinets, and pops of yellow and red. I think I'm back to the black drum shades for my fixtures. 

This has been a big learning process and I can't wait to see the result. Of course, I will share it with you here and if you're lucky enough to be a blog friend and a real friend, you'll be invited to a big "THANK GOD WE"RE DONE" party at the house. 

Until then, looking up recipes for things you can make in a toaster oven:)

Mama J's Breakfast Casserole

Jake and his friends have a breakfast club called the "Brodeo." (ask him what it is called when they invite the girls!!!). These boys all get together for Bryant's every Saturday morning and just do guy things. I like to imagine they talk about how much they love their wives/girlfriends/sig others and about fixing up the house and such but in reality, they probably talk about bodily functions, movies, and make crude jokes. They are boys.

But really, they are sweet guys and are sweet to each other. One of the boys, Ryan, and his wife had a baby together (well, Molly HAD it, but they did it together) last December. Grady's baptism was Sunday and so the Breakfast crew threw a brunch for all the family in town for the service. Ed and Hez hosted (they are good at that) and supplied the biscuits from Bryant's (a must). All the guys brought something (Dave brought his awesome Monkey Bread, Andrew brought Skier's Toast, and Rob brought a cucumber salad and a vegetable medley). To round things out, we brought the two breakfast things that Jake's mom always makes - our favorites. 

First, we made her cheese grits. These have jalapeno, cheddar cheese, and garlic in them. YUM. Jake made them and was supposed to take a picture, but didn't, so just visualize greatness. 

The main thing we made, though, was her breakfast casserole. Every holiday and special occasion in the history of the Jaspers as I've known them has had this casserole and it just makes you feel like all is right in the world.

 This is Mama J's Breakfast Casserole. Below is the recipe but know that when I cook, I like to just do a bit of this and that, so don't expect exact measurements. 

1 lb sausage (we used HOT because we like it)
1 pack sharp cheddar cheese
6 slices of white bread (torn into cubes)
8 eggs (beaten)
2 cups milk
salt and peppa'

Brown the sausage, prep the eggs (beat them) and pour the milk in the container with the eggs (add salt and pepper), cube the bread.

Grease a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Layer the bread on the bottom. Sprinkle the sausage in an even layer through the whole dish. Sprinkle the cheese in even layers. Pour the egg/milk/SP mixture on top. 

Cook at 325 for about 45 minutes. 

Eat.

life update.

August is a hectic month for me due to work starting back. I figured it might be time for a life update, as here at our house things have been a-changin'. 

We started back to school, me with some exciting changes due to the addition of two AP sections of Human Geography. My brothers left for their sophomore year at UT. Three of my besties left/are leaving for grad school (Elise and Gracie to YALE and Ellen to SFAI). Jake had orientation and starts school tomorrow. Lots going on! 


Ellen took this fun pic of all our Episco-pals at Ellen and Elise's going away party at Brie's new hot fancy house in Cooper Young:

(I stole the pic from her picture site What's in a Frame - she's a fab photog).

So with Elise and Gracie gone (sad face but excited for them) and Ellen leaving (again, happy sad), Jake being relegated to the books most days of our life, and the bros back in school, things are a tad crazy. Good crazy. 

Friday was Jake's White Coat ceremony - sort of an induction to the doctor-hood. It was a nice little ceremony and we got to celebrate with his fam afterwards. 

Of course, all the while are cute animals have been hanging out, keeping us company. I spotted the three of them the other day all in the same corner, just napping and being together:

 And, just because he's cute, one more picture:

 

Trolley Stop Market

Trolley Stop Market on Madison in the Medical Center district is all the rage right now - and rightfully so. They've got locally grown products in their food, their pizza is ridic, and the ambiance is right on. Jake and I have been twice. The first time, it was for dinner and there weren't too many people there. This past time though, there was a HUGE crowd. It was lunch and the place was packed. They had added several of sections of tables since we came the first time and their local produce stands were moved out of the way. 

For dinner they have a set menu that changes each night (or you can order a pizza) but for lunch they have a ton of hot sandwiches, sides, a meat/2sides plate, or a veggie plate. Everything looked delicious. 

In addition, they have all sorts of fun crafts made by local artists. Jake and I were eyeing the pieces of folk art after our friends Hez and Ed got theirs of cotton fields. We ended up waiting and getting a piece this time, which I love (and LOVED the $35 price tag):

 

Day Seven: San Francisco

Our last full day of vacation. After taking a minute to mourn our loss of freedom and happiness, we set out across the bridge to Muir Woods. It was quite foggy so no good pics of THE bridge but I did get one ok one:

 We drove on over to Muir Woods, home of large trees sort of like the ones we already saw. It was very relaxing and cool. A good stroll.

 btw - totally got three pashminas in Chinatown (this turq one included) the day before. Awesome. 

 those are some tall trees. 

 us with tall trees. 

 leaves.
After Muir Woods we went down to Salsalito for lunch. It is a cute little town and we ate at this small place right off the water. Still foggy, but a good view:

We got back and hung out for a bit before going to Cafe Pescatore for dinner. I picked it out of the guidebook and was very much looking forward to this. 

 It did not disappoint. From the bread to the fresh caesar salads to the main courses, it was divine. Very laid back but fancy. Right in Fisherman's Wharf. Loved it. I did get carded for a glass to go with the table's bottle of wine, which threw me off, especially when she was about to give 20 yr old Jacob a glass with no questions. With my husband sitting next to me and a ring on my finger? Oh well. Got flustered but over it. Food made up for it and the brothers were 99% human, which was a plus. Doesn't always happen. A good end to a great trip. 

Jake and I lingered downstairs for a bit after dinner at the hotel's patio (the one from the previous day where his allergic reaction emerged). The best thing about these "patios" were they were semi-private (walls coming out between the seating) and had fire pits so it felt very calming even though you were in the middle of the driveway of the hotel! We sat down and enjoyed vacation just a bit longer before having to go in and pack to prepare for an entire day of travel:

Day Eight brought a trip to San Jose in rental car, a plane ride to Phoenix, a freak out when we forgot Phoenix doesn't observe DST and thought we missed our flight, delicious nachos from an airport restaurant, a plane ride to Little Rock, a car ride to Memphis, and finally... home. For a day before traveling for a work meeting. What a busy end to the summer!

Day Six: San Francisco

Day Six of our trip. This day revolved around the need to go to the Apple Store since Ezra's iPod Touch broke (which may or may not have involved some excessive rough-housing). Luckily, the Apple Store was within walking distance and located in Union Square. And oddly enough, we probably wouldn't have gone to Union Square but it was one of the highlights of the trip so I'm glad his iPod had "technical difficulties". 

We started out walking towards Chinatown. We browsed through Chinatown, saw the sights (and smells), and tried to scout out places to return for lunch and souvenirs.  

 We soon wandered from Chinatown to Union Square. I think I found home. Any store you could think of was here:

We went in to the two story (!) Apple Store and then went over to Crate and Barrel. I had never been inside one and with my recent obsession with home goods (recent being since I'm a "grown up" now), I knew it was a must. We checked out all three stories (!!) of Crate and Barrel, salivating over everything and making plans for our million dollar break so we could fill our house with all of it:

 After spending an obscene amount of time in C&B, we went to lunch at R&G in Chinatown. This came by recommendation of Jake's dad as well as our guide book. We knew it was a good spot because it seems to be frequented by SF businesspeople and Chinese folk alike. It was also a little less.... shady? than other places in the area. 


We got a table immediately and ordered some family style dishes. First out was the salt and pepper fried crab:

It stared at me the whole meal...

The rest of the food came out shortly. I made sure to get the R&G special beef, which was recommended by the guide book. It was a good choice. If you go there and want to know what we got, we also got the lemon chicken, kung pao chicken, fried rice and duck noodle bowl. 

 If you're in SF and want authentic Chinese, check it out.

 We then headed up towards Grace Cathedral. On the way, we were determined to find Ellen's house for art school. Turns out it wasn't too hard, as it is a block from Grace Cathedral. 

We scoped out Ellen's house, which is sort of an apartment/dorm/hostel thing. The building is BEAUTIFUL and is located on California Street right by Chinatown, Union Square, Russian Hill, and Nob Hill. It is an ideal location. Here's some pics:

 (in homage to Ellen, an artsy pic of her house and her street name)

It isn't leaning - the street is just THAT steep. Isn't the building COOL?

 Ellen's view. 

I contemplated going inside and asking for a tour but was told that was "creepy." Probably so.

We then went the next block or so to Grace Cathedral, the 3rd largest Episcopal church in the country. It was gorgeous and a very special place. We got a tour led by a docent.

On the way back, I snapped this stereotypical SF pic:

Then Jake and I sat out on the patio area of our hotel for some time before Jake realized he was having an allergic reaction to something (maybe the crab? hope not) and had to go inside.... he was bright red and itchy all over. But before that, nice relaxing time on the patio:

So maybe not an ideal end to Day Six... but I did get to watch a lot of TV (which never happens at home) while poor Jake was hot and itchy. 


Day Seven is next - our last full day of vacation. Muir Woods and a fancy dinner!

Day Five: San Francisco

Day Four of the family vaca brought our first full day in San Fran. After a great morning of sleeping in (until 9am - thanks, dad!), we got up and set out for our adventure for the day. 

First up was a walk to the San Francisco Art Institute that I HAD to check out because my bff and talented photographer, Ellen, is going there on August 19th. 

(Check out Ellen's pictures on her website ... girlfriend can take some pictures!)

So obvi I needed to see where she'd be going to school AND the guidebook mentioned it as a place for awesome views of the city - so perfect for the first day of touring. Ellen's school is in the "Russian Hill" neighborhood and wasn't a far walk from the hotel (though - those hills. OH those hills). 

The front of Ellen's school is this Spanish Mission style building. It looks old (I don't know the history) and is beautiful. You're greeted by this:

 A lovely courtyard. There are all sorts of galleries (since they are all artists) and of course the classrooms, studios, offices, etc. We went in one gallery with a famous fresco (was I allowed to photograph this? I don't know):

 It is called the Making of a City. And it is HUGE. So cool. 

When you walk on through the outdoor corridor of the school, you end up in this outdoor space that is the transition to the newer building, which is an entirely different style:

Here you can see the old meeting the new. 

From the new building, you get sweeping views of the city (it was very cloudy most of our trip = bad pics):

here's another of the new building, with the belltower of the old building in the background:

 After chilling at Ellen's school for a while (really, they were kind of creeped out by these Southerners poking around and taking pictures), we headed on to a major tourist trip: Ghirardelli Square. 

We took the opportunity to be as touristy as possible, though our guidebook warned us against it (he seemed a bit elitist). We had a lot of fun here, just checking out the cute stores, people watching, and enjoying the weather:

 Here we are being total cheeseballs:

We were given some time to explore on our own by head trip manager Dad. After subjecting Jake to looking at cute aprons, tea pots, and other frilly things in the stores, we went to this really cool diner and sat at the counter to order Vanilla Cokes. 

(note: I loathe canned Vanilla Coke but I adore fountain coke with added vanilla a la Johnny Rocket)

The diner was really fun - very theme-y and touristy, but isn't that part of the charm?

After doing some exploring, we needed some lunch. We'd been craving In-and-Out (and debating on what goes in and out, the people or the food...) and had spotted one by the Square. We hit it up. Note - I didn't get the fun sauce on my cheeseburger because I said pickles only. Who knew there was a sauce? Not me. Ask for the sauce. Really. 

While I was hesitant about this place, it was worth fighting for a table with a foreign family. The fries are hand cut, the burgers are better than most fast food burgers, and the experience is worth it. 

We then returned to Ghirardelli Square for dessert and to purchase cupcakes for two certain twins birthdays, which happened to be that day:

(Kara's Cupcakes, where we got the cupcakes, was featured on a Food Network challenge the night after we got those, by the way. Cool, huh?)
 
We retired to our hotel after a long morning/afternoon spent running around. We had to prepare ourselves for this:

Looming off in the distance in SF is Alcatraz. And we had booked a night tour! We rested before heading down to the Pier. We stopped by Pier 39 (definitely a tourist trap - book was right about that one) and got to check out the famous sea lions:

There they were, just laying around. They appeared after the '89 earthquake and there are sometimes hundreds of them hanging out. They weren't close to the pier so I couldn't get a good shot, but you get the idea. 

The tour to Alcatraz was definitely a memorable experience. We got on a boat (duh) to go over to "the Rock". We got there and were given headsets for a guided tour, which took us all through the prison. Once we were done, we got to pick from several tours led by park rangers (did you know it is a National Park?) and we chose the one on escape attempts. 

I can see why there is a fascination with that place... it was really cool (and eerie!). 

Coming next, we go to Chinatown, Union Square, Ellen's new house, and Grace Cathedral!